The research focuses on the non-conventional use of scaffolding. Its initial use has been for centuries related to the construction of buildings in order to provide safe access to the workers andto move materials. However, a spectrum of needs and causes led to the creation of unconventional applications. A crucial factor, which concerns architects, is the aesthetic quality of the architectural creation.

Within a context of social, political, artistic, and cultural changes we notice a shift in needs and in the aesthetic perception, displaying architectural elements that we previously attempted to hide. That provokes changes in the use of scaffolding, by bringing it from the background to the foreground. Scaffolding is linked to the construction site in the sense of 'dirt'. One of the questions that arise is what triggered the change of the traditional use of scaffolding? why architects, sometimes, choose to show it off instead of hiding it?

Beyond the theoretical framework, the research gathers and analyzes a set of examples of architectural constructions, in which scaffolding is used unconventionally for the construction of pavilions, festivals, theater scenes, showrooms, minimal residences, in the fashion sector.

The research categorizes and explains the techniques and methodologies applied. The conclusions indicate the increasing use of scaffolding for the creation of installations and its use as a structural framework. This is linked to a general trend, from Pompidou onwards, to bringing installations from the background to the surface.

The continuous interaction between architecture and scaffolding, as a structural and visible element in the construction, defines the way for the design and for the construction of architectural structures in relation to materiality (metal - wood - bamboo), typology (assembly - disassembly), the experience of the visitor and time (ephemeral - permanent construction).